


A Little Bit of Self-Discovery

by BabyGenius



Category: Julie and The Phantoms (TV)
Genre: Also Luke and Reggie realize some things, And they have a lot of questions about the new terms, Asexual Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Bisexual Julie Molina, Bisexual Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms), Demisexual Julie Molina, Fluff, Gen, Pansexual Luke Patterson (Julie and The Phantoms), Self-Discovery, The boys find out about pride month!, pride month
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-29
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-08 01:06:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,704
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26707204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BabyGenius/pseuds/BabyGenius
Summary: Alex stopped them in the middle of practice. “Alright, what is so important about June?”Julie looked at him, her mouth open. She shook her head and closed it. “That’s right, you’re from ’95. June is Pride Month.”Reggie looked at Luke and Alex to see if they knew what that meant, but they didn’t have a clue either. “Pride month?” He asked, sitting down.——The boys find out about pride month. That’s it. That’s the fic. And they have a few (a lot) of terms explained to them, some discovery about themselves, and maybe they wind up going to pride, who knows.
Relationships: Alex & Julie Molina & Luke Patterson & Reggie, Alex & Luke Patterson & Reggie (Julie and The Phantoms)
Comments: 68
Kudos: 482





	1. The World Was A-Changin’ and This is What It Became

**Author's Note:**

> Hi! This is my second work for this fandom and I’m working on a third, which will be multichap, so stay tuned! Both this story and the jatp fic I published prior to this are two shots, and their second chapters will be worked on in a timely manner ;)
> 
> Disclaimer: a lot of people in the community only figure out definitions for a lot of the terms through vague internet sources and other people in the community, so take what I have with a grain of salt, if you please. I do not claim to be entirely correct, but I am a part of the community and I’ve been researching this for two weeks to try and get it right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi all! This is my second jatp work! This is a two shot, and I’m going to make the other one a two-shot as well. Also in the works is a multichap story, the first chapter of which will be published by the end of the week. This fandom has honest to goodness sucked me in but I don’t regret it.  
> I have a jatp tumblr where I post original stuff as well as reposting fandom stuff. It’s julie-and-the-phat-ones, so go check it out! That’s where I post some of my artwork and talk about my works. Go send me an ask or submission, or just lurk, whatever’s good for you.  
> My main tumblr is blerghfish, if you wanted to check that out too.  
> Also, disclaimer: I don’t claim to know even close to everything about the community, even though I am a part of it. So if I misrepresented anything, please, please, please let me know.

Pride month was in full swing even though it was only June second, and Alex still had no clue what was going on.

He stopped them in the middle of practice. “Alright, what is so important about June?”

Julie looked at him, her mouth open. She shook her head and closed it. “That’s right, you’re from ’95. June is Pride Month.”

Reggie looked at Luke and Alex to see if they knew what that meant, but they didn’t have a clue either. “Pride month?” He asked, sitting down.

July nodded her head earnestly. “Yeah, it’s a month dedicated specifically to the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Alex’s eyes widened and he dropped his sticks. “An—there’s an entire month?”

Julie nodded. “Yeah, and there are a bunch of parades and other events for everyone to participate in. Actually, Flynn booked us a gig there. It’s a short one so you can all still go to pride, but it’s there.”

Luke shared a smile with the boys, grasping Alex’s shoulder and shaking him before pulling him into a hug. “Dude! It’s an entire month!”

Alex grinned into the hug, Julie and Reggie joining in. “I can’t—I never would have thought—an entire _month_?”

Julie nodded. “Yeah! I don’t quite know the specifics of how it came about, but this is the month where there’s a bunch of parades, stores will hang pride flags in their windows, that kind of thing. I mean, obviously we’re not a hundred percent better, but I guess we’re better than we were.”

Alex sat down, clearly unsure of what to think. His fingers drummed on his thighs absentmindedly.

Seeing that Alex would need a little bit to process, Luke cleared his throat, a puppy grin on his face. “That’s so cool! Though I don’t know what all those extra letters are for.”

Julie’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh! Okay, so there’s the L, for lesbian, G for gay,” and she continued explaining.

A spark entered Reggie’s eyes when she explained what bisexual was, but he stayed quiet.

“Wait, why does queer have its own letter? I thought it was a blanket term.”

Julie nodded. “I’m not quite sure, but from my understanding it can be used as a blanket term or for those who know that they’re in the community but don’t quite know how to define themselves.”

When she got to the A she explained it could be used for either asexuals or aromantics.

“What is that? Isn’t aromatic where you smell?” Reggie asked, his hands on his lap and his eyebrows furrowed.

Julie gave a bark of laughter, shaking her head. “No, Reggie. A _ro_ mantic. They’re both spectrums. Asexual is where you aren’t sexually attracted to people. The spectrum usually ranges from sex-repulsed, those who aren’t sexually attracted to people but have no problem with it, and there’s also greysexual and demisexual. For example, I’m demisexual. It means that I usually have to form a close emotional bond with someone before I start forming feelings for them.”

Luke, Alex, and Reggie shared glances before Luke blurted out. “Wait so it’s an actual thing to not form sexual attraction?!”

Julie gave him an odd look. “Yeah. A lot of bigots like to say asexuals are broken, but that’s not true. They just have different ways of forming relationships with people, whether it’s romantic, platonic, or something else.”

Luke fell back against the couch, his head tilted to the ceiling as he muttered something.

“Dude, I couldn’t hear what you said.” Julie looked at the other two questioningly but they just shook their heads.

Slightly louder and only just audible Luke muttered, “I thought it was just me.”

Julie’s eyes brightened in understanding and she pulled out her phone. “No, there are bunch of people somewhere on the spectrum. Here, there’s a pride flag for it.” She pulled it up on her phone and presented it to him. “There are a lot of different combinations of sexualities, and people can be more than one. Like, I’m not only demisexual, but I’m also bisexual. It means I like two or more genders. For a while I thought I was pansexual, but I feel more comfortable with bisexual, so that’s what I identify as.”

Reggie held up a hand. “Wait so is being bisexual like a common thing?”

Julie laughed. “I mean, kinda? It’s part of the LGBTQ+ community, though there’s a lot of bi erasure, either by saying the person is straight or just saying they’re completely gay.”

Reggie nodded, digesting that for a second. He muttered something, but no one could make it out.

“What’d you say, dude?” Luke asked, leaning closer.

“I think I’m bisexual, then.”

Julie nodded. “I’m glad you felt comfortable enough to tell us. But, let me say this: I am in no way surprised.” At Reggie’s somewhat offended look she burst into laughter. “Dude, I know you and Luke are close, but getting that close to each other by the microphone is at least a little bit gay and Flynn agrees with me.”

Luke spluttered. “That’s—we’re not—!”

Reggie looked at Luke before breaking into soft chuckles, tinged with nervousness. “I mean, she’s not wrong. I did have a crush on you for a while there.”

Luke’s eyes went wide. “Oh my god I was so oblivious. How did I not catch onto that?” He looked at himself and then at his palms, putting his head in his hands and groaning. Alex patted his back.

“It’s okay, we love you anyway.”

“ _Dude_.” It was muffled by Luke’s hands but the boy still sounded so done.

They all started laughing, Julie rubbing circles into Luke’s back sympathetically. Luke took a second before looking up, taking a deep breath and changing topic. “Wait, so what’s pansexual?”

“Pansexual is when you like all genders, but gender doesn’t have really have an impact on whether or not you like someone. So, for bisexuals, omnisexuals, that kind of thing, then a lot of people have a preference. So they like both or multiple, but they may like girls more, or they may like non-binary people better, it just depends on the person. I’m pretty sure, though, that pansexuals don’t really have a preference in relation to gender. Sometimes bisexual, polysexual, pansexual, and the others can overlap, so it often just depends on which label you feel more comfortable with.”

Luke gaped, his eyebrows furrowed as he thought about it. “It’s cool that there are so many different labels now.”

Julie nodded, a thoughtful look on her face. “Yeah, I think it’s definitely helped people know who they are and find themselves, which is pretty great.”

The boys had a lot to process, and Julie could see that, so she suggested they continue practicing. She kept her eye on Luke, who seemed like he was thinking pretty hard about what he’d just been told. Between his brows had that minuscule crinkle he would get when thinking about something, his lips slightly pursed and his eyes far away. She smiled softly, glad she had helped him even a little bit.

Who knows. Maybe they’d like to go to pride with her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, like the chapter count says, this is a two shot, but I still hope you enjoyed! This one was a beast to write purely because of doing the explanations while attempting to keep things in character, so let me know how I did please!
> 
> If you have the energy, drop a comment! It’s always nice to know people appreciated my work, no matter how short or long the comment is I love them all. No comment is too small, it gives me the motivation to keep writing. 
> 
> If you don’t have the energy to type anything out, don’t worry I totally get that! Just click a button for kudos to lemme know if you appreciated or liked it. 
> 
> Stay tuned for chapter 2 everybody, as well as chapter 2 of “I’m Still Here” (a reunion fic between Luke and his parents), and the first chapter of the multichap fic I’m working on!
> 
> Also: I know there’s a lot to talk about for the show, so there’s a discord! Here’s the link - https://discord.gg/PVTzrD
> 
> Hope y’all are happy, healthy, and safe, and thank you for reading!


	2. A Little (Lot) of Pride

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys get to go to pride! Focuses on Jukebox and Luke, but has some implications for the other two boys.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi! Same disclaimer about not knowing all things LGBT+ still apply. Also, kissing, because I have kissed three times in my life, all the same person (my ex), and we both turned out to be gay (he was a boy, I am not), so there wasn’t much other than chaste ones.   
> Also, I may or may not have modeled the Jukebox kiss after what my first kiss was like, but who knows lol.   
> Enjoy!

Pride was beautiful, in a chaotic way, Luke couldn’t help but notice. He had been thinking about all of the terms Julie had helped the band discover a week and a half ago. Luke thought he finally figured out which one resonated with him. He’d always felt a little odd, identifying as straight, and to have a term that actually fit him was a huge relief.

The show was a hit, and most people stopped what they were doing to watch and jam out. Luke found himself drawn to Julie more than usual, and couldn’t help the dopey grin he knew was on his face. He caught the teasing smiles Reggie and Alex trained on him, the comments they wanted to make being conveyed even without words, and scoffed, focusing back on the music. He couldn’t help but look out at the crowd, though, and see everything that was going on.

Pride wasn’t just a living affair, it seemed, but a dead one as well. Ghosts swarmed the streets, their own vendors selling things on the streetside, right next to the unsuspecting lifer vendors. They finished their set, _poof_ ing off stage and waiting until Julie and Flynn joined them.

Willie dragged Alex off somewhere to hang out for a bit. Reggie and Flynn had paired up to wander around some of the informational vendors, since Reggie was still _very_ curious.

Julie and Luke exchanged bashful smiles, Luke rubbing his forearm. “Thanks, again, for helping us with this stuff. A lot of it’s really new,” Luke said.

Julie shrugged. “It’s no problem. Besides, I’ve been coming since I can remember, so I wanted you to be able to share in the experience.”

The walked around for a bit, discovering different kinds of food until Julie picked a vendor and bought a snack. She looked at him with a teasing grin, leading him to a secluded bench underneath some trees. They sat in comfortable silence for a bit, Julie eating her churros. Eventually, though, Luke cleared his throat, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. Julie looked at him, a question in her eyes.

He smiled awkwardly before swallowing. “I—uh, I just wanted to say that I…think I’m pan?” He looked away for a second, then turned his attention back to Julie, who had a comforting smile on her face.

“That’s cool! I’m happy you were comfortable enough to tell me, Luke.” She took another bite of her churro, her eyes sparkling. Luke couldn’t help but admire her, even though he did it all the time.

Julie had chosen an outfit of black, blue, and purple, with little accents of pink. She had pins on her vest for the flags that she used.

Julie looked around, her eyes lighting up on something behind Luke. He turned around to follow her when she ran off, dragging him with a firm, but gentle, grip around his wrist.

Luke laughed, following after her. She came to a stop in front of a stand with different kinds of plain clothes, designs laid out on the table in front and a printing iron behind it. She looked at him in consideration before beckoning the vendor over to her, leaning in to whisper something to him.

He laughed jovially, bright makeup glittering in the sun. “You got it, sweetie.”

She grinned back at him before turning back to Luke and spinning him around so he could no longer see the booth. He squawked slightly, unsure of what she was doing but accepting it with a soft smile. A few minutes passed before the man called to Julie and she payed with a bright smile and thanks. Whatever she bought was bundled up in her hands, so Luke couldn’t see much of it aside from a bundle of pale grey fabric.

Julie quirked her lips and had him follow her back to the secluded bench. “Close your eyes,” she instructed.

“But—” at her quelling look, Luke gave up and closed his eyes. He felt a soft cotton wad be pressed into his hands. Julie told him to open his eyes and he did, looking down at the fabric and then up at Julie with a joking smile on his face. “Can I look at it now?”

Julie sighed in exasperation. “Yes, doofus, you can look at it.”

He laughed, unwadding the fabric and holding it out in front of himself. When he saw the pattern on the shirt, Luke couldn’t help but grin. He laughed, though, when he noticed that the sleeves had manually been cut off by the man that sold it to her. A pale grey shirt with no sleeves and the pan flag right smack in the middle.

“Here, wait,” Julie said, turning around. “Now you can put it on.”

Luke chuckled, pulling off his other shirt and quickly putting on the new one. When he gave the okay, Julie turned back around, a soft smile gracing her face. Luke cupped Julie’s face in a moment of impulse, looking into her eyes. “Thank you, Jules.”

Julie gulped and nodded. “Of course. I wanted to make it memorable for you, in a good way.”

His eyes softened as he put his hand down. “It already was.” Luke seemed to think for a second, before haltingly asking, “Julie? Could I—uh—that is—is it alright if I kiss you?” He rushed out. Julie’s eyes went wide and he quickly backtracked. “I mean, unless you don’t want to, obviously, I just—”

“Luke!” Julie interrupted, putting her own hand over Luke’s. “Yes, you can kiss me.”

He smiled at her, leaning in. She leaned in, too, their eyes meeting and somewhat nervous smiles on their faces. They—

“Ow!” Luke held his eye, meeting Julie’s eyes with a startled look as she rubbed her nose. Everything seemed to stop for a second, and then they both burst out laughing.

“I’m so sorry!” Julie said, holding her stomach as she heaved for air.

“Me too!” They looked at each other and started laughing again, taking a few moments before calming down.

“I think—I think we should probably try that again,” Julie suggested, looking up with a flushed face at Luke’s amused eyes.

“Yeah, that would—that would be good, yeah.”

They leaned in again, and this time their lips met softly. Luke deepened the kiss, his eyes closed as he focused on the feeling of Julie’s lips against his. They broke apart after a few moments, happy smiles on their faces. Julie leaned into his side, wrapping her arm around his back.

“That second one was our first kiss, right?” Luke asked jokingly.

Julie nodded, meeting Luke’s eyes with faux-seriousness. “Yes. I don’t know what you mean by it being the second one, it was obviously the first.” Her eyes glittered playfully.

There was silence for a moment, not awkward but not quite comfortable either. Julie hummed softly. “Do you—maybe, wanna be my boyfriend? I don’t know how the whole you being a ghost thing will work, but I’m willing to try if you are.”

Luke nodded, squeezing Julie against him. “I am too.”

——

When they all met back up, Julie couldn’t help but notice that Alex and Willie were holding hands, both smiling at each other. Alex had gained a pair of rainbow socks and a pin. Julie and Luke exchanged knowing looks before turning back to Reggie and Flynn.

“So how did it go?” Julie asked.

“It was so cool! There’s so much information now! And look! I got a guitar strap!” Reggie held up a strap colored pink, purple, and blue with an excited twinkle in his eyes. He looked at Luke and seemed to notice what he was wearing, adding on with a teasing laugh, “Seems like I’m not the only one that got something, though.”

Luke shrugged, smiling back. “I think it fits.”

Alex, who had finally looked away from Willie, grinned. “It does, it definitely does. You always flirted with anyone who was even remotely good at music.”

“Hey!” Luke cried indignantly. “That is not true!”

“Sorry, dude, but it is.” Reggie winked at Julie as they began to walk away, headed to where her dad said he would meet them.

“It is not! Come on, guys!”

“I mean, you started flirting with me after you heard me sing,” Julie laughed, smiling mischievously as she walked away.

“Those were just compliments!” Luke protested, following after her and ignoring the giggling group behind him.

“No, you definitely did, dude,” Alex managed, knocking shoulders with Willie and chuckling. Luke glared at him playfully. “This is betrayal, is what it is.”

“But it’s the truth.” Julie shrugged.

“It is not!”

“Is too,” Reggie laughed.

Luke humphed, pouting. “Is not,” he mumbled to himself.

“We love you anyway, though,” Julie said softly, smiling at him before she finally found her dad. Guess they had to do this again next year, since the boys liked it so much.

But that wasn’t really a problem, since this was one of the best prides she’d been to, in Julie’s opinion.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y’all liked it! I know there was a criminal lack of Willex, and I apologize, but y’know, it didn’t feel right to fit that into the chapter and possibly steal it from Luke and his realizations. Same thing with Reggie.  
> Also, I’ve never been to an actual pride yet (tragic, I know), so take the scene with a grain of salt. 
> 
> Chapter 2 of Long Live the Dead will be up on Friday, and it’s a whopping 4000 words long (chapter 3 is longer), so go give that a look! It updates once a week.
> 
> Also, go check me out on tumblr (either julie-and-the-phat-ones or blerghfish) and yell at me! I love interacting with people, don’t ever be scared to message me or send me an ask, because they honestly make my day!
> 
> And don’t forget to drop a kudos or a comment, I love them and they help me maintain the confidence needed to publish my stuff lol.
> 
> Hope y’all are happy, safe, and healthy!

**Author's Note:**

> I hope you all enjoyed it and that you’re happy, safe, and healthy!
> 
> Thank you for taking the time to comment, kudos, or just think about my fic in general, I greatly appreciate it.


End file.
